Writing Reformist Histories

Abstract

This article argues that Southeast Asia is an illustrative yet much-neglected empirical terrain for the study of “outsider history-makers” and their vocations. Through an analysis of the writings of Hamka, a well-known Indonesian cleric, this article demonstrates that “outsider history-makers” in Southeast Asia have been engaged in the production of “reformist histories”—a genre of popular historical works written in an alluring and captivating way to foster a rethinking of commonplace assumptions about the evolution of religious communities, the roles of reformers in society, and the place of spirituality in human history.